Head Coach Peter Howell begins his ninth year at the helm of the Stormy Petrels. He has over thirty-five years of both playing and teaching tennis experience that include holding the #5 national ranking by the United States Tennis Association (USTA) for six consecutive years and being named the Georgia Professional -of-the-Year four times as well as the Georgia Senior Player-of-the-Year twice. He has been inducted into both the Georgia Tennis Hall of Fame and the Georgia Professional Tennis Hall of Fame. The men’s tennis team he guides has been ranked regionally in the Atlantic South Division among NCAA Division III schools in each of the past four seasons. The men’s team had its highest finish since joining the conference in 1991 making the Final Four for the second consecutive year and being ranked #7 in the Atlantic South division of d3 last year. The women’s team had a  jump from 10^th to 9^th last season.  His cumulative records after 8 years are 103-63 for the men and 72-82 on the women’s side.

In 1977 Howell founded the Georgia Professional Tennis Association, a grass-roots formation of tennis professionals in Georgia dedicated to improving the standards of tennis in the community. Since its creation, the Georgia Professional Tennis Association has grown to over 300 members and has become the model for similarly founded organizations across the country.

A graduate of Vanderbilt University, Howell starred for three seasons for the Commodores on the tennis courts before injury sidelined him for his senior year. As a junior, Howell was named captain of the team and earned Most Valuable Player honors.

“Coaching here at Oglethorpe is a great situation. The players play for their own personal enjoyment and compete with the best D3 teams in the country.  The continued improvement in the program my major goal”

Rob Johnson joins the Stormy Petrel staff this year as assistant tennis coach. Johnson has been the private touring coach of Nikita Kardivar, son of hockey great Slava Kozlov, traveling the International Tennis Tour the past three years. He was a member of the International Tennis Academy Staff from 1998-2005 and received is BA from the University of Alabama. Johnson held a world ranking in doubles in 2001 for his outstanding partnered play.